“Adolescents do not only require ARVs and adherence counseling”: A qualitative investigation of health care provider experiences with an HIV youth peer mentoring program in Ndola, Zambia

摘要

Introduction Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) living with HIV face unique challenges and have poorer health outcomes than adults with HIV. Project YES! was a youth-led initiative to promote HIV self-management and reduce stigma among AYAs in four Ndola, Zambia clinics. Clinic health care providers (HCPs) were involved in multiple intervention aspects, including serving as expert resources during AYA and caregiver group meetings, facilitating resistance test-based AYA antiretroviral drug changes, meeting with participants referred through a safety protocol, and guiding a subset of participants’ physical transition from pediatric to adult clinic settings. This study aimed to understand HCP insights on facilitators and barriers to implementing Project YES! and scaling up a clinic-based, youth-focused program.